Magnetic cigarette and filter



Jan; 7, 1964 L. B. ANDONIE s. 3,116,739 MAGNETIC CIGARETTE AND FILTER Filed March 5, 1962 BY ,2 9M

ATFORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,llh,739 Patented Jan. 7, 1964 3,116,739 MAGNETKC CIGARETTE AND FILTER Luis l3. Andonie 5., Rio Grinoco 160 te., Ccionia del Valle, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico Filed Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 177,595 1 Claim. (Cl. 13110) This invention relates to tobacco articles, and in particular to an improved form of cigarette, cigar, or the like. For purposes of brevity, the present specification hereinafter refers to the invention only as applied to cigarettes. However, it will be readily understood that the invention is equally applicable to cigarettes, cigars, or the like.

Cigarettes containing filters in use today usually consist of a tobacco section comparable in length to the standard length of a cigarette without a filter, and a shorter filter segment. Said segments are normally maintained in fixed relation to each other in a permanent manner by means of an overwrap which encloses the respective segments, thus forming one inseparable extralength, or king size cigarette unit. While the prior art suggests the use of a tobacco section having metal inserts therein for separating the sections into a plurality of smaller sections, such a construction is costly to fabricate, and does not contemplate use of a re-usable filter. Moreover, in instances where re-usable filters have been suggested, the same do not form part of the cigarette in use.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved cigarette with a detachable fi ter section; or, more specifically, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved cigarette-filter combination, comprising: an elongated tobacco section; an elongated filter section; and, cooperating magnetic means on one end of each of said sections for releasably holding the sections together in longitudinal alignment whereby the filter segment is easily detachable from the tobacco segment.

Yet, further and more specfic objects of the present invention are: (l) to provide such an improved cigarettefilter combination which allows for the utilization of only one filter section for a plurality of tobacco sections thereby substantially reducing the cost of filter cigarettes to the user; (2) to provide an improved cigarette-filter combination as heretofore described wh re the tobacco section may be of shorter length and the filter section of longer length than is standard in a filter cigarette thereby providing the psychological impression that a regular or kingsized length is being smoked while at the same time reducing tobacco waste; and, (3) to provide an improved cigarette-filter combination as heretofore described where the tobacco and filter segments respectively may be manufactured in any desired lengths in accordance with mass production techniques.

In its broad and simplest aspects, the invention provides a cigarette-filter combination, comprising a tobacco section and a filter section, wherein one end of each section, the ends being mating concave and convex, contain cooperating magnetic means for adhering the sections together. The preferred magnetic means takes the form of a porous coating applied to the respective mating section ends with magnetic particles dispersed therein.

The invention will be better understood, and objects other than those specifically set forth, will become appar ent, when consideration is given to the following detailed description. The description refers to the annexed drawings presenting the preferred and illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette unit constructed in accordance herewith and presents the tobacco and the filter sections thereof adhered to each other.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the tobacco and filter sections of FIGURE 1 separated, and displaying the convex and concave mating ends respectively as well as the magnetic particles dispersed therein.

FIGURES 3 and 4 are end views partially broken away of the mating ends of the filter and tobacco sections respectively.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal view partially in section of the tobacco and filter sections adhered to each other in accordance with a modification of the invention, and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the tobacco and filter sections adhered to each other in accordance with the preferred embodiment hereof.

In the drawings, as best illustrated by FIGURE 2, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a tobacco section 2 including a tobacco fill 2(a), an overwrap 2(b) therefor, and a filter section 3 including a filter 3(a), and an overwrap 3(1)) therefor. The mating end portion 5 of the tobacco section 2 is convex and is covered with a porous covering 7, best shown in FIGURE 4, such as but not limited to foamed fireproof polyurethane, having magnetic particles 4 dispersed therein. The filter 3(a) can be made of cellulose acetate fiber tow or of some other suitable material. The mating end portion 6 of the filter section 3 is concave and is also covered with a porous material 7', as heretofore described, and best shown in FIGURE 3, having magnetized particles 4' dispersed therein. The magnetic and/or magnetized particles are dispersed within the porous coverings, 7 and '7', by any well-known conventional method, as for example, that disclosed generally in Patent No. 2,959,832. The respective mating end portions 5, 6 of the tobacco and filter sections 2, 3 are adhered to each other, as illustrated by FIGURE 6, by means of the magnetic and magnetized particles 4, 4' dispersed therein. It is readily apparent, however, that either mating end portion 5, 6 of the tobacco and filter sections 2, 3 can be convex or concave, so long as they can be mated, and that the particles 4, 4' dispersed in either end portion 5, 6 can be magnetic, magnetized, or combinations thereof, so long as both end portions carry suificient particles to attract or be attracted to one another. It is to be understood that the term magnetic used hereinafter refers to and includes magnetic, magnetized, or combinations thereof, particles or bodies capable of attracting or being attracted to each other.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention describes a porous magnetic covering to adhere the sections together, such adhesion can be achieved by other cooperating magnetic means. As illustrated in FIGURE 5, a magnetic cap 8, having a convex or concave mating end portion is inserted in the filter section 3. The cap 3 has a plurality of apertures 9 to facilitate the passage of air and eliminate the necessity of exact aperture alignment with the like cap 8' inserted in tobacco section 2. A depending skirt ll of cap 8 extends within the mating end portion of said filter section 3. A like magnetic cap 8' with apertures 9 and a skirt 16' is similarly inserted within the mating end portion of the tobacco section 2. The skirts portions It), 10 of the magnetic caps 8, 8' extend longitudinally along the periphery of each section within the overwraps 2(1)), 3(b). The magnetic caps 8, 8' can be metallic in nature, plastic or of some other suitable material. Non-metallic caps would acquire a magnetic state by providing magnetic particles dispersed therein.

After reading the foregoing detailed description of the illustrative and preferred embodiments of the present invention, it should be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of this specification have been successfully achieved. Accordingly,

What is claimed is:

A cigarette-cigarette filter combination unit, said unit comprising an elongated cylindrical tobacco section having a predetermined uniform diameter between opposite ends thereof; an elongated cylindrical filter section having said predetermined uniform diameter between opposite ends thereof; one of said sections having a first end portion with a convex face and the other of said sections having a second end portion with a concave face, said convex and concave faces being of mating configurations; said end portions comprising respective first and second magnetically attracting coverings, each of said first and second coverings being fixedly secured to said sections With said convex and concave faces providing respective mating end faces of said sections, said magnetically attracting coverings releasably securing said sections 4 in end to end alignment with said end faces in mating engagement whereby said sections provide the appearance of a unitary cigarette; said coverings each being pervious to the passage of smoke therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,192,569 Williams Mar. 5, 1940 2,389,104 Bauer et a1. Nov. 13, 1945 2,693,193 Pelletier Nov. 2, 1954 2,959,832 Baermann Nov. 15, 1960 2,998,820 Ades Sept. 5, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 738 Great Britain of 1883 1,145 Great Britain of 1907 

